Does desktop homepage copy work as well on mobile?

Our mobile homepage used different value proposition copy from desktop. We tested the desktop copy, which had performed well many times, on mobile. Over 9 days, conversion fell 9.9%, and we paused the test.

Lost Mobile 9 days Called at 90%

SURFACE

Homepage

DEVICE

Mobile

VERTICAL

Ecommerce (B2C)

PRIMARY METRIC

Conversion rate

VARIATIONS

1

The hypothesis

By using the desktop homepage copy on mobile, we will give mobile visitors stronger value propositions, resulting in more registrations.

Value propositions help persuade visitors to choose a service. The desktop homepage copy had performed well across many tests, while mobile used different copy. We tested whether the desktop wording would do the same job on a phone.

What we changed

Desktop homepage copy used in place of the mobile copy

Var A replaced the mobile value proposition copy with the copy from the desktop homepage. The layout, form and button stayed the same.

VAR A: DESKTOP COPY

Mobile copy replaced with the desktop copy

The result

Conversion fell 9.9% with the desktop copy on mobile

CONVERSION RATE

-9.9%

The desktop copy started strong in the first few days, then the results flipped. Over 9 days, it converted 9.9% worse than the original mobile copy. The loss cleared our confidence bar, so we paused the test after 9 days rather than keep losing registrations.

What we took from it

Users preferred the original mobile copy

On this page, copy that worked on a wide desktop screen did not fit a phone as well. Mobile visitors converted better with the copy written for mobile, so we kept it.